Hi, first post, appologies for asking advice first visit.I've basically spent the past 3 months off the bike as a result of shoulder bursitis and some minor tears to my right shoulder. A couple of months on non steroidal anti inflamatories did absolutely nothing. Ended up having a cortisone shot last Friday and there was some initial improvement but now 3 days later improvement has been very little since. Hoping to see some more improvement the next few days, comments from the doctor and radiographer while doing the cortisone was that it was very "sticky" and would have gotten worse quite quickly, not real promising comments I guess?I lead a very active lifetsyle (not just cycling but other quite active pursuits) and this is starting to really impact upon me, would be very interseted to hear from others who have suffered similary and what they did to get results?Cheers,Waldo

It isn't advisable to compare your injury with others. there's a lot of variation in scope of damage and age related capacity for repair. You need appropriate imaging to reveal what's going on, and the sooner the better.

In the mean time, if injections have provided only temporary relief, try crushed ice in a wet towel for 30 minutes every hour for 4-5 hours daily. or until pain level drops below 3/10. Don't underestimate the power of ice when applied in the right dosage the right way.

Further stop irritating the damage by raising the elbow above or behind your shoulder, or lifting objects >5-10kg.

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated.I haven't seen a physio (generally see an Osteo occasionally so I'll give a physio a try for a change) yet so I'll give them a call tomorrow and see what they can do. Thanks again,Waldo

tallywhacker wrote:had a similar thing, bursitis and tendon problems. Did the physio, cortisone thing but only got temporary relief. Ended up having acromioplasty surgery and haven't had a problem for 8 years

Good to hear tallywhacker, about 2 months ago I saw a surgeon for another non related matter and showed him the report (ultrasound of shoulder). His comments were "mechanical" problem ultimately a mechanical solution will be required.

How long was your recovery after the surgery?

Tried the physio this morning, unfortunately closed till next week (can't blame them for that).

Spent an hour on the trainer this morning, good workout but riding indoors on such a nice morning was a bit of pity.Cheers,Waldo

+1 to PawPaw. I had shoulder pain starting in August for no specific reason. Tried physio, osteo and acupuncture with no improvement. Eventually physio referred me to a sports doctor who diagnosed a tear in the rotator cuff then sent me for x rays and ultrasound. They confirmed I had a full thickness tear that developed slowly by abrasion following a minor fall in 1999!! (I had an arthroscopy back then that didn't find anything)Anyway tear was 16mm long and I had surgery on dec 12th. As PawPaw says, everyone is different - especially with shoulder injuries... I have 4 weeks in a sling, 6 to 8 weeks off the bike and 3 to 5 months before recovering full strength. The only advice I will give you is find yourself a good sports doctor and if you have surgery, believe them when they tell you it will hurt afterwards... It's worse than a broken hip which I had in 2000 - but that's another story for another time! Good luck!

Cortisone shot. I'm now on my 2nd shot after crashing my bike and causing shoulder bursitis in my left shoulder. I did have one many years ago on my right shoulder thanks to throwing newspapers and only 1 shot was needed and ceased throwing newspapers. Cortisone takes about a week to work, so at 3 days be patient and wait. If after a week to 2 weeks and still causing you grief, go back to your referring gp/physio. I do hope that 24hrs after the initial injection you kept that joint fairly immobile? If you didn't it would have spread the cortisone around and away from the injured area....

Thanks again guy's, appreciate the comments.Yes, I did take things easy for the 24 hours or so after the injection and still are but keeping mobility (hope that makes sense).

I am real keen to get the shoulder back on track but also aware of the risk of rushing things and going backwards further. The hardest thing is I can maintain fitness to a certain level riding the trainer (which I kind of like, yes sounds wierd I know most cyclists seem to hate it), walking the dog, etc. but strength I am going to lose.

Cautious as I am turning 50 next year and had originally intended to do the Audax up at Bright (maybe for the following year now) and really don't want to go backwards conditioning wise too far as I am aware it will be harder to get it back than maintain.

I'll give the cortisone 1 1/2 to 2 weeks then consult the GP again if neccesary, if possible I'll get into the physio next week.

Physio is good. Internal and external rotation exercises are the bred and butter of shoulder therapy. If you have a "sticky shoulder" that does not respond to cortisone, it may be more adhesive capsulitis rather than bursitis.

Well my 2nd Cortisone shot has well and truly worn off, started wearing off on the 6th feb. Went to doc today and damnit, off to a MRI I go on the 27th. He thinks some damage that the ultrasound can't see, so I'll know shortly and for the time being I won't be riding either of my DF's but looks like I'll get some bent time in.

I had mine trouble me a couple of times in the last month, due to driving a manual truck again.

Foo

Tell me about that, and I think mine has been aggravated as well by due to driving a manual work van I can feel my shoulder in a few of the shifts and turning steering wheel. Coming out of the 2nd cortisone shot my shoulder is more worse compared to my 1st one .Rather my VW golf DSG and my bikes over that. Now I've gotta find out if my shoulder will ache on my bent.

Just a quick update on where I am at. The physio has had very litle impact with no noticeable improvement in either range of movement or discomfort, bugger. Managed to get an earlier appointment at the surgeon so saw him at the start of last week, he sent me for an MRI which I managed to get the next day. Surgeon didn't see any merit in a second cortisone shot since the first one had no impact, was thinking possibly frozen shoulder or some more in depth damage that the xrays and ultrasound didn't pick up?I have basically committed myself that surgery is probably the most likely outcome with my next appointment at the surgeon mid March.In the meantime in an effort to get as much fitness as possible I'm hitting the trainer 5.30AM each weekday morning for a 30min session of either intervals or steady pace, after 2 weeks starting to feel the benefits. That plus the physio exercises I should at least give myslef the max. chance at a quick recovery if I do end up under the knife?Cheers,Waldo

Ice is the natural first choice. It is certainly is a great circuit breaker for inflammation that will not otherwise go away. It has proven to be highly successful for a couple of ailments that I have have over a lifetime.

Commonly cortisone does just what you described - works a little for a little on a first shot. Sometimes requires one or two more and is also quite tricky to get placement right. (Ultrasound can be good so some radiologists do a good business in cortisone.)

Conventionally it seems to be that if it still hasn't given much satisfaction after three then it is not going to work.

Waldo wrote:...about 2 months ago I saw a surgeon for another non related matter and showed him the report (ultrasound of shoulder). His comments were "mechanical" problem ultimately a mechanical solution will be required.

To a carpenter everything looks like a nail.

I am not averse to surgeons (I've had my shoulder operated on five times and my orthopaedic surgeon is on speed dial). Whatever you do it is best to do it early and to not aggravate it in the meantime by doing the same stuff that upsets it. Try a sling too as it can be anything at all that will break the cycle of inflammation and repetitive damage.

I'm seeing this, & I'm not sure if my Bacchetta will suit my needs. I suspect I may need underseat steering or a trike/velomobile. I'll have a better idea where my shoulder is at on the 29th when I should get my results from a MRI with injection

Well, I saw the physio again today (different one this time as first advised I see a colleague for a second opinion) and managed to get the report from MRI taken a couple of weeks ago, adhesive capsulitis it is. Next appointment with the surgeon in two weeks time unless I pick up a cancellation sooner, nice to have a firm diagnosis so we can treat accordingly.Cheers,Waldo

My MRI report is finally in and the news is in. Mild subacromial-subdeltoid bursitis. No wonder I'm having issues with lifting my arm. 3rd cortisone shot coming up now and physio starting. Doctors these days sheesh

Last time I had burisits one round of cortisone + physio sorted me out and now I've got a different doctor.

foo on patrol wrote:I have not gone with the injections, for the reason of it not really being a good, long term thing!

Foo

I know the cortisone shots are not really well regarded in some quarters, my simplistic approach is that if it removes/reduces the inflammation and buys back some increased mobility potentially that improved status may stay. Unless of course the original reason for the inflammtion either returns or was still present in the first place then the whole exercise will be short term or fruitless.

It appears that the cause for some of these inflammations can not be clearly diagnosed, hence the conservative approach seems to be "stop doing what ever you do a lot of and it will go away" as my BIL who is a GP advised. My repsonse was "I really ike doing that stuff", hence why I do it a lot!

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